Wire-twister



H. MILLER.

WIRE TWISTER.

Patented MeylZ, 1885..

lnTTnn ETaTns PaTnNT HENRY MILLER, OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.

WlR'E-TWISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,832, dated May 12, 1885.

Application filed May 15, 1884.

To @ZZ whom it may concern/r Beit known that I, HENRY MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ann Arbor, in the county of Vashtenaw and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful VirefIwister, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatos to twisters for twisting wires that are stretched to carry pickets in a picket and wire fence, where the said wires are usally stretched in pairs horizontally, secured to vertical posts set in the ground by staples, and retain 'the pickets in a vertical position by being crossed or twisted between the pickets.

The objects of my invention are as follows: first, to provide a tool that will cross or twist by a complete turn the wires of all the pairs in the fence at one movement; second, to provide a device that will retain these wires securely in the position last named while the picket is fixed in place. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an elevation of the apparatus used, viewed in the direction of the line of the fence from the side the operator stands on to work it. Fig. 2 is a perspective view ofthe machine in operation, and Fig. 3 is a detail.

A B are two bars carrying a rack-bar at each end of each, set at suitable distances apart on these bars A B, according to the spacing of the pairs of wires. C are two pinions worked by the racks and kept in place in the line of the wires by a plate on each side of each pinion, which are of a size to cover over onto the edges of the racks, and held to the pinions by a central stud passing through them and the pinions, as indicated, or by any equivalent device. The bars A B are held together by an eyebolt, R, which embraces one bar byits properly-shaped eye and passes through the other bar, receiving a crank-nut, N, working on a screw, P, on the end of the bolt and bearing on a washer on the outside of this bar. rlhe eye of the eyebolt may or may not carry a roller, K, against the outside of the bar it embraces, or any other device to facilitate the sliding motion of this bar through the eye when the nut N is tightened. The bars A B (No model.)

carry each a handle, H, for moving them so as to turn the pinions C, and also a step, D, each, for aiding by the use of the foot of the operator in turning the pinions. The pinions C have holes L through them for the wires to be twisted to pass through, and areslotted so they can be inserted between the wires of a pair, and the said wires readily admitted to these holes L. V

My device is used as follows: The nut N being sufficiently screwed off of the screw at P, the pinions C may be removed from between the bars A B. Each wire of a pair is passed through the slots in the pinions C to the holes L. Each pair of wires now carrying a pinion, the bars A B are held in place against the pinions, each pinion standing in the middle of its pair of racks. The nut N is then to be screwed on till the bars A B are pressed sufficiently against the pinions to stand alone in place wherever set with reference to each other by the operator. By placing the foot upon one of the steps D and grasping the handies H, the operator slides one. bar past the other, thereby rotating the pinions C and giving the wires of all the pairs the required twist about each other. A picket is then inserted between the wires of each pair, set, and the whole apparatus slid forward on the wires a little as the work runs. The operator now places his foot on the other step D and, grasping the handles H, slides the bars back again, giving the wires a twist in the opposite direc-l tion. These movements are repeated at will.

In starting from a post the apparatus is set as in the figure, the wires given a half-turn, after which the pinions will stand at the lower end of one rack and at t-he upper end ofthe other, the racks being of a length suitable for giving the pinions a complete turn.

The number ofracks and pinions in any case will depend upon the number of pairs of wires in the fence.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a wire-twister, the combination, with the rack-bars A B, of the slotted perforated pinion or pinions, C, with their slotted and perforated plates L, for retaining them in placeA on the racks, as shown and described.

IOO

2. In a wire-twister, the combination of the and steps D, for Working the apparatus, with slotted and perforated plates and pnions C, the clamping device R,as shown and described, [o and the racks and bars AB,With the handles H all for the purposes set forth. and steps D, for Working the apparatus, as

5 shown and described. l HENRY MILLER" 3. In a Wire-twister, the combination of the Witnesses: slotted and perforated pinons and plates C, JOHN J. RoBIsoN, the racks and bars A B, and the handles H L. DAVIS. 

